A fund to protect the civil justice system.

The Robert L. Habush ATLA Endowment was created to fund programs that will create public understanding and provide research and ideas to promote the civil justice system in the 21st century. The Endowment functions as a grant-making foundation with the mission to preserve and protect the civil justice system and individual rights by providing consistent public education and research to promote informed public dialogue on, understanding of, and appreciation for the civil justice system; sponsoring prestigious education programs and publications for judges and law professors; and funding innovative scholarship and research on the civil justice system and individual rights. These issues are addressed through four institutes funded by the Endowment: the Public Education Institute, the Judicial Institute, the Law School Institute, and the Research Institute. * TRIAL is proud to feature profiles of ATLA members who have fulfilled substantial donations to the The Robert L. Habush ATLA Endowment. The first five of the donor profiles appear on the following pages. For more information about The Robert L. Habush ATLA Endowment, please call [phone] or send a message to [e-mail].

Leo V. Boyle

Leo Boyle, a principal of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald in Boston, graduated from Harvard College in 1968 with a B.A. in English. He received his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1971.

Mr. Boyle served as ATLA's president in 2001-2002. He was president-elect in 2000-2001, vice president in 1999-2000, secretary in 1998-1999, treasurer in 1997-1998, and parliamentarian in 1996-1997. He served on the Board of Governors from 1987 to 1991 and 1994 to 1996. He was cochair of ATLA's 50th Anniversary Committee and has cochaired the Legal Affairs Committee, the Bar Liaison Committee, and the ALI Relations and Study Committee. In 1994, 1995, and 1996, he received Citations of Excellence for his service to ATLA. A former trustee of the Civil Justice Foundation, Mr. Boyle is currently a trustee and fellow of the Roscoe Pound Institute.

He served as the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association in 1990-1991 and as president of the New England Bar Association in 1992-1993. He is currently on the Board of Governors for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In 1990-1991, Mr. Boyle was president of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association Council, and, in 1996, he received the William J. Kenealy, S.J. Alumnus of the Year Award from that school.

He has participated in approximately 100 presentations on trial advocacy and tort law at educational programs offered or sponsored by various bar organizations and institutions, including programs presented by ATLA's National College of Advocacy Mr. Boyle has also testified before committees of the Massachusetts state legislature in opposition to restrictive legislation in the areas of automobile insurance and medical malpractice.

His memorable cases include Santos v. Chrysler (1999), Fubini v. Chaffey (1999), Herson v. Massachusetts Electric (1993), and Bielat v. American Optical Corp. (1983).

Joseph W. Cotchett

Joseph W. Cotchett, a partner in Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy in San Francisco and Los Angeles, received an engineering degree from California Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo and his L.L.B. from the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. The California State University Regents awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws.

In his 37 years of practice, he has tried more than 100 cases to verdict. He has won jury awards and settlements in white-collar and securities fraud cases, major antitrust actions, qui tam suits, business litigation, products cases, and First Amendment litigation. In the early 1990s, he represented plaintiffs against accountants, lawyers, and other defendants in litigation related to the Charles Keating/Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal, winning a record verdict and several substantial settlements. He served as defense counsel in several prominent cases, including a major trade-dress infringement suit and First Amendment cases in which he defended a consumer group against claims brought by major automakers. He has also handled major pro bono cases.

Mr. Cotchett is an active member of national, state, and local bar associations and legal organizations. He has been elected to fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has served on the California State Bar Board of Governors, as well as the board of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice; the Witkin Legal Institute; the Public Citizen Foundation; the Legal Aid Society; the Consumer Attorneys of California; and ATLA.

Mr. Cotchett has written several books, including California Courtroom Evidence, Federal Courtroom Evidence, and several books on trial practice. An active environmentalist, he currently serves as chairperson of the California State Parks Commission, one of the largest park systems in the United States. His most recent book, The Lost Coast, is a historical guide to the California coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.

John Howie

John Howie, a partner at Howie & Sweeney, L.L.P., in Dallas, received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas in 1968. After graduation, he served as a U.S. Navy pilot and then enrolled in Southern Methodist University (SMU) School of Law in Dallas, where he earned his J.D. in 1976. He is board certified by the State Bar of Texas as a personal injury trial lawyer and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a civil trial law specialist.

Mr. Howie is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the International Society of Barristers. He has served as president of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association and the American Board of Trial Advocates, Dallas chapter. He is on the Board of Directors of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and is a former chair of both ATLNs Aviation Section and the ABA TIPS Aviation and Space Law Committee. He is currently a member of the SMU School of Law Executive Board and is on the Advisory Board of the SMU Journal of Air Law and Commerce.

Mr. Howie has received numerous honors, including being named the Dallas Bar Association's 2002 Trial Lawyer of the Year. D Magazine named him one of the best trial lawyers in Dallas in 2001. He has also been recognized as a distinguished alumnus by both the University of North Texas and the SMU School of Law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

A frequent speaker and writer on the subjects of aviation, wrongful death, personal injury, and trial practice, Mr. Howie has also served as an adjunct professor of advocacy at the SMU law school. He limits his practice to the representation of plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death litigation involving aviation, products liability, and negligence claims.

Thomas William Malone

Tommy Malone, a trial lawyer practicing in Atlanta, received his pre-law education from the University of Georgia and attended the Walter E George School of Law at Mercer University, receiving his L.L.B. in 1966. His practice is limited to plaintiffs' personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

A past president and a life member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Mr. Malone is a life member of ATLA and served as a member of the ATLA Board of Governors. He is a past president of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and a recipient of the Warhorse Award. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers and a lifetime fellow of the Roscoe Pound Institute. He is board-certified by the American Board of Professional Attorneys and serves as a diplomat of that organization.

He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, all editions. In 1995, the Georgia chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates named him Georgia Trial Lawyer of the Year.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has referred to him as "one of the state's top malpractice attorneys," and Georgia Trend named him one of the top 100 Georgians. In 1999, he received The Tradition of Excellence Award, given by the state bar of Georgia.

Mr. Malone is a frequent speaker for medical and legal groups. His publications are in the field of trial practice and include, among others, Voir Dire and Summation: The Law and the Practice, published in 1999.

Mr. Malone follows the ideal that one should be true to one's calling. His calling is the vigorous and ethical representation of the catastrophically injured as well as the survivors of those who have died as the result of the carelessness of others. He has obtained several substantial verdicts for his clients, including one in 1995 against Kaiser of Georgia for a child who suffered quadruple amputations and another in 1999 against a neurologist and two hospitals for a 39-year-old stroke patient.

Eugene I. Pavalon

Gehe Pavalon, who received his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law, is a founder and senior partner of the firm of Pavalon, Gifford, Laatsch & Marina in Chicago. He is a former president of ATLA, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Roscoe Pound Foundation (now the Roscoe Pound Institute), and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. Mr. Pavalon has devoted his career to litigation focusing on all aspects of matters involving personal injury and wrongful death, as well as complex commercial litigation and class actions on behalf of plaintiffs. He has had numerous substantial verdicts and settlements. Several of these verdicts, affirmed on appeal, established new, substantive legal principles.

Mr. Pavalon has been elected to fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the International Society of Barristers. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the exclusive Inner Circle of Advocates.

He has lectured extensively in the areas of trial practice and substantive law at trial lawyer seminars throughout the country and at many law schools. He has written many articles for legal journals and periodicals, including TRIAL magazine, and two books, Human Rights and Healthcare Law, published in 1980, which focuses on the legal and ethical issues in the health care profession, and Your Medical Rights (with Charles Inlander), published in 1990, which provides a consumer guide to understanding medical rights and malpractice issues.

Mr. Pavalon has received a number of honors, including the American ORT Jurisprudence Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, ATLA's Harry M. Philo Award, and the Champion of Justice Award from the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. Mr. Pavalon is listed in numerous prestigious directories, including The Best Lawyers in America.